A.J. Hinch and Josh Byrnes were interviewed separately, on different days even. Yet when the Padres executives were asked their feelings about the Arizona Diamondbacks running away with the National League West, their words were nearly cut-and-paste identical.

“I have mixed emotions,” said Hinch, vice president of pro scouting.

“I kind of have mixed feelings,” said Byrnes, VP of baseball operations.

The Padres and Diamondbacks, two teams headed in opposite directions, open a three-game series tonight at Petco Park. Barring an epic collapse, Arizona (87-63) is playoff-bound. At 63-87, the Padres are cellar bound.

The D-backs are on a roll, winning 18 of their last 22. The Padres are getting steamrollered, losing 17 of 20.

But at least Byrnes and Hinch can revel a bit in Arizona’s success.

Byrnes, 41, served as the Diamondbacks’ general manager the previous five seasons. He traded for Ian Kennedy, who at 19-4 is a leading Cy Young Award candidate. He traded for center fielder Chris Young, a Gold Glove candidate who has slammed 118 homers the past five seasons. Byrnes signed third baseman Ryan Roberts (18 homers) as a free agent and drafted pitcher Josh Collmenter (9-9, 3.40 ERA).

“They’re part of a great success story,” Byrnes said. “But at the same time, we’re not there anymore.”

Hinch, 37, ran Arizona’s minor league system for three years before Byrnes tabbed him to succeed Bob Melvin as the Diamondbacks’ manager on May 8, 2009.

Hinch, a backup catcher who played parts of seven major league seasons with four clubs, had never coached or managed.

“I was shocked,” said Hinch, who earned a psychology degree from Stanford. “It was the furthest thing from my mind when he approached me. I felt my time in the dugout was done. I thought my next career was going to be in slacks and a collared shirt.”

Said Byrnes: “I understood it was risky.”

And ultimately, a failure that led to both men being fired.

Hinch, who already looked young for his age, was eight days shy of 35 when he accepted the job. His inexperience cost him respect with the players. A horrendous bullpen with a 6.98 ERA compounded matters.

Hinch finished with an 89-123 record. The Diamondbacks were 31-48 when he was canned last year. Byrnes and Hinch were jointly fired on July 1, 2010.

Said one person close to the Diamondbacks: “They had one of the worst bullpens in the last 50 years. A big part of a manager’s job is managing the pitching staff. (Hinch) didn’t have a lot to work with.”

Added Byrnes: “Like any hire, particularly one people didn’t like at the beginning, you’ve got to have performance behind it. The bottom line in this business is wins and losses, and we just didn’t win enough to get people behind that decision.”

Hinch used the words “toxic, chaos” and “tension” to describe the atmosphere surrounding last year’s Diamondbacks.

“Things just never jelled for that club,” Hinch said. “There was some negativity that happened and it was pretty toxic. Losing, I think, creates a lot of negativity. Certainly, there was a lot of tension and animosity surrounding the club.”

Barely a year later, the Diamondbacks are tied for the second best record in the National League.

Byrnes and Hinch hold no grudges. Just the opposite. Last week when the Padres lost three of four in Phoenix, Hinch visited Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. Gibson succeeded Hinch after serving as Hinch’s bench coach.

“I wanted to make sure he knew how proud I was of the job he was doing,” Hinch said. “I have a lot of ties there. You don’t just turn that off when somebody takes away your keys to the building.”